Learn when and how to use Italian partitive articles
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Marco: Hello, and welcome back to the ItalianPOD101.com , the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Italian! I'm joined in the studio by... |
| Consuelo: Hello everyone. Consuelo here. |
| Marco: In today's class, we will focus on "the partitive," il partitivo. |
| Consuelo: This conversation takes place at a restaurant. |
| Marco: It's between Melissa and Alessio. |
| Consuelo: In this conversation, they will be speaking informal Italian. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Melissa: Anche il menu è grandioso. E' tutto delizioso! |
| Alessio: Bene. Ancora un po' di vino? |
| Melissa: Sì, per favore. Ho veramente degli amici favolosi, proprio una festa inaspettata. |
| Alessio: Il compleanno è un giorno fatto per festeggiare con amici. |
| Melissa: Sì, con delle persone care e possibilmente con la persona che ami. |
| Alessio: Ehm, ehm. Giustissimo. Vuoi dell'arrosto? E' buonissimo. |
| Melissa: Che c'è Alessio, nervoso? |
| Alessio: Chi io? No, no. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Melissa: Anche il menu è grandioso. E' tutto delizioso! |
| Alessio: Bene. Ancora un po' di vino? |
| Melissa: Sì, per favore. Ho veramente degli amici favolosi, proprio una festa inaspettata. |
| Alessio: Il compleanno è un giorno fatto per festeggiare con amici. |
| Melissa: Sì, con delle persone care e possibilmente con la persona che ami. |
| Alessio: Ehm, ehm. Giustissimo. Vuoi dell'arrosto? E' buonissimo. |
| Melissa: Che c'è Alessio, nervoso? |
| Alessio: Chi io? No, no. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Melissa: Anche il menu è grandioso. E' tutto delizioso! |
| Marco: Also, the menu is great. Everything's delicious. |
| Alessio: Bene. Ancora un po' di vino? |
| Marco: Good. Some more wine? |
| Melissa: Sì, per favore. Ho veramente degli amici favolosi, proprio una festa inaspettata. |
| Marco: Yes, please. I have some really fantastic friends and a very unexpected party. |
| Alessio: Il compleanno è un giorno fatto per festeggiare con amici. |
| Marco: A birthday is a day made to celebrate with friends. |
| Melissa: Sì, con delle persone care e possibilmente con la persona che ami. |
| Marco: Yes, with some nice people and possibly with the person you love. |
| Alessio: Ehm, ehm. Giustissimo. Vuoi dell'arrosto? E' buonissimo. |
| Marco: Ehm, ehm. Absolutely right. Do you want some roast? It's very good. |
| Melissa: Che c'è Alessio, nervoso? |
| Marco: What's up, Alessio, are you nervous? |
| Alessio: Chi io? No, no. |
| Marco: Who, me? No, no. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Marco: Oh they're eating "arrosto"...so good. |
| Consuelo: Yes, you can say that again. Anyway, Alessio used the "arrosto" as an excuse to change topics. |
| Marco: Oh, really? |
| Consuelo: Yes, because Melissa was talking about the person you love, and he obviously started to act shy… |
| Marco: That happens, and suggesting some "arrosto" is a very nice way out. |
| Consuelo: Ah, ah. Do you think so? Way out from what, embarrassing speeches? |
| Marco: Yes, it can be. |
| Consuelo: Okay, next time, please try method and let us know whether it works or not. |
| Marco: "Promesso," "promised!" |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Consuelo: grandioso [natural native speed] |
| Marco: great |
| Consuelo: grandioso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: grandioso [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: delizioso [natural native speed] |
| Marco: delightful, delicious |
| Consuelo: delizioso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: delizioso [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: favoloso [natural native speed] |
| Marco: fabulous, fantastic, wonderful |
| Consuelo: favoloso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: favoloso [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: inaspettato [natural native speed] |
| Marco: unexpected, unforeseen, unpredicted |
| Consuelo: inaspettato [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: inaspettato [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: caro [natural native speed] |
| Marco: dear, beloved |
| Consuelo: caro [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: caro [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: possibilmente [natural native speed] |
| Marco: possibly, perhaps, if possible |
| Consuelo: possibilmente [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: possibilmente [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: arrosto [natural native speed] |
| Marco: roast |
| Consuelo: arrosto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: arrosto [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: nervoso [natural native speed] |
| Marco: nervous, edgy, bad-tempered |
| Consuelo: nervoso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: nervoso [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Marco: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Marco: Consuelo, what word are we studying today? |
| Consuelo: Today, we're studying the word "caro." |
| Marco: "Dear" or "loved." |
| Consuelo: In the dialogue, Melissa talks about "persone care." |
| Marco: That stands for "beloved people" or "someone who is very close to you." |
| Consuelo: Yep. We often use the phrase "uno dei miei più cari amici." |
| Marco: "One of my closest friends." |
| Consuelo: Or "la morte di una persona cara." |
| Marco: "The death of a loved one." |
| Consuelo: Please don't forget that the adjective "caro" also mean "expensive" in Italian. |
| Marco: Ah, okay, don't confuse it with expensive friends! |
| Consuelo: Ah, ah right. |
| Marco: "Grazie," Consuelo. We learned some other expressions we can use to be nice and polite with our Italian friends. |
| Consuelo: "Sì!" |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point. |
| Marco: In today's class, we focus on "the partitive article." |
| Consuelo: "Il partitivo." |
| Marco: The partitive article is used to indicate imprecise or approximate quantities. |
| Consuelo: The most common way to express the "articolo partitivo" in Italian is with the preposition "di" plus a definite article, whether singular or plural. |
| Marco: As a result, we have the following partitive articles… |
| Consuelo: The feminine singular is "della," and the feminine plural is "delle." |
| Marco: The feminine before nouns beginning with a vowel is "dell'" with an apostrophe at the singular and "delle" at the plural. |
| Consuelo: The masculine singular is "del," and the masculine plural is "dei." |
| Marco: The masculine form before nouns beginning with a vowel is "dell'" with an apostrophe at the singular and "degli" at the plural. |
| Consuelo: The masculine form before nouns beginning with the letter "-z", the letter "-s" plus a consonant, or the letters "-gn" is "dello" at the singular and "degli" at the plural. |
| Marco: In the dialogue, we heard "degli amici favolosi," which means "some fantastic friends." |
| Consuelo: "Delle persone care." |
| Marco: "Some beloved people." |
| Consuelo: And "dell'arrosto." |
| Marco: "Some roast." Consuelo, let's make some other examples with partitive articles. |
| Consuelo: Okay. "Ho comprato delle uova, del caffè, del cacao in polvere, del mascarpone e dei savoiardi per preparare il Tiramisù." |
| Marco: "I bought some eggs, some coffee, some cocoa powder, some mascarpone cheese, and some sponge fingers to prepare tiramisu." |
| Consuelo: "Ho portato dei pennarelli, delle matite, della carta e della tempera per disegnare con i bambini." |
| Marco: "I brought some felt-tip pens, some pencils, some paper, and some tempera to draw with the kids." |
| Consuelo: Please remember that it is better not to use the "articolo partitivo" in negative sentences. |
| Marco: For instance? |
| Consuelo: "Non bevo latte." |
| Marco: "I do not drink milk." |
| Consuelo: "Marcella non ha monete per il parcheggio." |
| Marco: "Marcella does not have coins for parking." |
| Consuelo: When expressing "some" in Italian, we can also use "alcuni" and "alcune" with plural nouns… |
| Marco: "Qualche" with singular nouns, although it expresses a plural meaning… |
| Consuelo: Or "un po' di," which means "a bit of" or "some." |
| Marco: Let's hear some other examples now. |
| Consuelo: "Compro alcuni vestiti." Or saying "Compro qualche vestito" is exactly the same in Italian. |
| Marco: "I buy some clothes." |
| Consuelo: "Incontro alcune amiche" is the same as saying "Incontro qualche amica." |
| Marco: "I meet some friends." |
| Consuelo: "Vorrei un po' di zucchero per favore." |
| Marco: In this case, you used "un po' di." "I would like some sugar, please." |
Outro |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. |
| Marco: Listeners, do you know the reason flashcards are so popular? |
| Consuelo: It's because they work! |
| Marco: We've taken this time-tested studying tool and modernized with My Wordbank Flashcards! |
| Consuelo: Learn vocabulary using your eyes and ears! |
| Marco: It's simple and powerful. Save difficult and interesting words to your personal vocabulary list called My Wordbank. |
| Consuelo: Master words in your My Wordbank by practicing with Flashcards. |
| Marco: Words in My Wordbank come with audio, so you learn proper pronunciation. |
| Consuelo: While you learn to recognize words by sight! |
| Marco: Go to ItalianPod101.com now, and try My Wordbank and Flashcards today! |
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